I have great pleasure in welcoming you to the 5th Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation.

The Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation was inaugurated in August 1998 with the aim to encourage scientific exchange and facilitate collaboration in the field of rehabilitation. It provides an excellent forum for participants to share knowledge and experience, and gain new insights into innovative rehabilitation science.

Hong Kong has a strong tradition in promotion of rehabilitation and development of rehabilitation services and professionals. We encourage innovations that can facilitate positive outcome and full social participation. I am sure you will all enjoy the dynamic city as much as the conference programme.

I congratulate the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the International Federation of Sports Medicine for their excellent work in organizing the Conference. I wish the Conference every success and all participants a very rewarding experience.

Dr. York Chow
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

I have great pleasure in extending a warm welcome to all the participants of the 5th Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation cum Pre-FIMS World Congress of Sports Medicine 2006, co-organized by PolyU's Centre for East-Meets-West in Rehabilitation Sciences and the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS).

As is clear from the theme, "Marching towards Olympics 2008", this Conference will focus on sports rehabilitation. It will provide an invaluable platform for physiotherapists, occupational therapists, sports administrators, government officials, coaches and athletes to exchange views, experiences and latest research findings in the area.

As the sole provider of tertiary education in occupational therapy and physiotherapy in Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is honoured by being invited by the Gymnastics Management Centre of the State Sports General Administration of China to become an official partner of China's gymnastics team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The University's team of specialists, from the fields of rehabilitation, sports therapy, physiotherapy, nursing and health technology, will participate in the training and rehabilitation programmes of the national gymnastics team. We are excited that we will be able to contribute our expertise and play a role in the Olympics, the world's largest and most prestigious sports event, which is to be held in our motherland for the first time.

I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Organizing Committee for their concerted efforts in staging this worthwhile event. I have no doubt that the Conference will help advance the knowledge and practice of sports rehabilitation and I am sure that all of the participants will find this Conference both stimulating and rewarding.

Poon Chung-kwong, GBS, PhD, DSc, JP
President
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

The Olympics will take place in Beijing less than two years from now. There are increasing interests in the Country and the region to advance the knowledge and practice in injury prevention, sports enhancement, sports medicine, and rehabilitation of sports injuries. To kick start an international effort towards making Olympics 2008 a success in Beijing, the Centre for East-meets-West is organizing the 5^th Pan Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation (PPCR) with a theme focusing on "Marching towards Olympics 2008," which will be held in Hong Kong on June 9-11, 2006. We are co-hosting this conference with the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS) as the pre-FIMS World Congress of Sports Medicine 2006.

	Dr. York Chow, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Government of Hong Kong SAR (officiating guest).
	Dr. Chan Wai-man, Assistant Director in Family and Elderly Health Services, Department of Health, Government of Hong Kong SAR.
	Prof. Peter McNair, Director of Physical Rehabilitation Research Centre and Professor of School of Physiotherapy, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.
	Prof. Gabriel Ng, Professor and Associate Head, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
	Prof. Steven L. Wolf, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Professor of Geriatrics, Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Professor of Health and Elder Care, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, USA.
	Prof. Stephen Wong, Professor, Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Aside from plenary speeches, there will also be ample opportunities for communications and information sharing in the free paper and poster presentations and the four pre- and post- conference workshops.

Hong Kong is well-known for her cultural diversity and panoramic scenery. June is a time when the whole city will be filled with an extra touch of energy in anticipation of the vibrant summer activities. This atmosphere matches perfectly well with the theme of our conference. We invite you to join us at the 5th PPCR in the Pearl of Orient, and we promise this conference will be a stimulating and enriching experience for all.

See you at the conference!

Prof. Christina Hui-Chan, BSc, MSc, PhD

Chairperson, Scientific Programme and Organizing Committee

Message for 'The 5th Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation and The Pre-FIMS World Congress of Sports Medicine 2006'

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

On behalf of the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS), it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 5th Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation and the Pre-FIMS World Congress of Sports Medicine 2006.

Year 2006 is a memorable year for FIMS, as we are going to host the 29th World Congress in Beijing from June 14-16, 2006. This is the premier sports medicine activity where we gather the international fraternity to explore the various facets of scientific and clinical subjects of sports medicine, that are important to our practice in education and research. We believe that the best clinical outcome of looking after athletes will be a holistic care involving a multi-disciplinary approach by the professionals in the medical and the allied-health teams. The Pre-FIMS World Congress of Sports Medicine is designed precisely with that objective to provide a platform for the exchange of experience. The best clinical practice model will also be a best learning model for our students and for those of us who are in charge of training program and continuous professional development programs. As we are seeing an enormous demand from the sporting community, and from the general public at large, for specific clinical and scientific disciplines of sports medicine to be applied to the day-to-day exercise and sports for health, we must have a long-term objective in training quality professional people who can fulfill these tasks.

Similarly, along the various research arenas, in both basic research and clinical & applied research, there are enormous opportunities of collaboration between sports medicine and rehabilitation professionals. I congratulate the organizing committee in choosing the theme on “Matching towards Olympic 2008” which sets the backdrop for such an emphasis and I do look forward that in the run-up to 2008 Olympic in Beijing, there will be intensive discussion and implementation of what you will be deliberating in this conference, such that the outcome of your professional exchanges will be realized in the implementation.

I would like to ask the participants who are coming to Hong Kong for this conference would take an extended stay in China and join the FIMS World Congress in Beijing. Enjoy the congress and the hospitality, explore the fascinating city of Hong Kong and enrich yourself in rehabilitation and sports medicine.

With my very best personal regards,

KM Chan
The President of FIMS